Breaking Gods

  Born to mimic any talent she sees, Lieta is asked for help in taking down those of her own kind. A new career in Breaking Gods.

  Abandoned at the doors of an abbey, Lieta began life with knowledge of how to use any talent she was in contact with. As she grew, so did her collection of accessible power.

  When the Citadel came to the abbey to ask for her assistance, she was astonished to learn she was not only not the only one of her kind, but she was one of the only sane ones. Her species enjoys being worshipped and that is rarely a good result for their people.

  Lieta has to stop them, nullify them and make sure that they won’t hurt others. Running into one of her previous arrests and finding out that she is expected to let him be her shadow is a shock.

  Muraz once fancied himself a god, but after being shown that he was not alone, he has decided that working with the only being more powerful than himself might be educational.

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  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Breaking Gods

  Copyright © 2014 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-77111-918-4

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Devine Destinies

  An imprint of eXtasy Books

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  Breaking Gods

  Tales of the Citadel Book 28

  By

  Viola Grace

  Chapter One

  The storm was wild. She clutched the baby to her chest and ran through the rain.

  She had been given five minutes to get her child to safety and her lack of control had caused her to overshoot the landing site. Now, she had to run.

  The woman set the child against the gate in the shelter of an overhang, and she rang the bells with all her might. Her keeper was coming for her to resume her training. This was the only moment in the entire span of time that she wanted.

  Her daughter needed to be safe.

  A figure appeared next to her and she was hauled away before she knew that her daughter was safe. She screamed as she was taken away and then fell silent. Her daughter had heard that scream twice today. The first time had been when she died.

  * * * *

  The monk opened the door as the blood-curdling scream faded in the air. The smaller, more insistent shout came from the bundle at his feet. He leaned down and lifted her in his arms. “Hello, little one. Did you make all that noise?”

  The baby looked at him with eyes in a purple so dark they looked to be deep brown. She blinked and slurped her fist.

  The monk lifted his hand and light covered it, illuminating their new arrival. The baby waved her fist in the air and it glowed in reaction.

  “Oh dear, little one. You have a lot of power in that tiny body.”

  She waved both fists and both glowed. She giggled and then burped. He brought her inside to the warmth and shelter of the temple. Sister Esrai would know what to do with her.

  * * * *

  Twenty-three years later, Lieta was hauling in the harvest with the monks and acolytes when a blast struck the ground near her feet.

  “You. Manager.”

  She turned to face the young man with the dark soul and blacker temper. “Redol, right?”

  “She talked about me, did she? The stupid bitch.”

  Well, she had guessed right. “Ah, so you are Venila’s ex-boyfriend. You are everything she said.”

  Lieta moved away from the wagon and toward the intruder, into the monastery’s property. “What did you want?”

  “I want Venila back. Give her to me.”

  “She is not a slave, nor is she owned by the monastery. She can come and go as she pleases, but she is choosing to live there and take vows to serve others.”

  Lieta kept easing to one side until there was nothing to strike behind her.

  “She is mine. She will come back to me.”

  “Oh, I do not think so. She will remain where she is safe. Where a jackass with a bad temper will not cow her and make her feel like nothing has happened because her healing talent takes over the wounds.”

  “Then she will be working on you tonight, bitch.” He extended his hand and a ball of whirling wind emerged. With a clumsy shove, he directed it at her.

  She shook her head, caught it and sent it back with a tight, hard ball of whirling air that struck him straight in the chest.

  He was knocked on his ass and he didn’t like that. He got up and sent a larger ball toward her. She caught it, tightened and sped it up, and sent it back to him.

  He was swept along in the ball of wind and tumbled down the hill. She knew he would return but not today.

  The harvesters were staring at her and then they broke into smiles. “Well done, Lieta.”

  “Thanks, Brother Frimin, but I was just doing my job.” Lieta helped them push the cart back to the abbey, a normal woman once again.

  They shoved as they climbed the hill, and soon, the fruit was safely inside the wall where the brothers and sisters of the order were waiting to turn it into jams and jellies for the local market.

  Sister Esrai greeted her with a smile. “They are talking about what you did. Your control was admirable. Mother and Father wish to speak to you.”

  The last sentence made Lieta straighten in shock. “Now?”

  Sister Esrai gave her a wry look. “Have you ever known them to make an appointment for the future?”

  She chuckled. “No. Their interest in the future is spurious at best. Can you handle this? Sister Aliyin’s talent for propagation was amazing. This is the best harvest I have seen in my twenty years here.”

  “I can handle it. Now go.” Sister Esrai stroked her cheek and sent her off.

  Lieta brushed her hands on her robe as she passed the industry in the forecourt. Venila was with one of the monks and her hands were steady as she chopped up fruit for the press. In the two days since she had been on the edge of death, she had recovered remarkably.

  Lieta walked the halls until she reached the chapel. She pressed her hands to the door at the back of the chapel, and when she heard it unlock, she opened it.

  The private garden was the home of Mother and Father, the founders of Aruda Abbey. The ancient stones had been built around them.

  Lieta walked carefully into the garden, watching for any small movements that would tell her she had stepped on the wrong thing. She mentally smacked herself and removed her shoes before continuing further.

  The change moved up her legs as she walked, and by the time she had reached the stone bench in the centre of the garden, her body was covered in moss, vines and twigs.

  The huge tree next to her stirred and the vines parted to release Mother and Father. The figure had made itself a familiar shape, but the life within those eyes was not of the world of Kenhoick.

  “Daughter, are you well
?” Mother and Father sat next to her and took her hand. Thin tendrils of vine connected it to the bole of the tree.

  “I am well, Mother and Father.”

  There was no sense in pressing with questions. Mother and Father would only answer when they were ready, which was coincidentally when the questioner was ready.

  “The harvest was good this year. The new talents are strong and have a will to work.” Mother and Father smiled, the wood of their features creaking.

  “Yes, they are and do.”

  Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t true silence. Trees creaked, leaves rustled and branches swayed as the heartbeat of the world was felt in the garden.

  “You must leave us for a time. There is a need for it.” Mother and Father took her hand.

  Lieta was shocked. “Leave the abbey?”

  “Leave this world. You will return soon, but you are needed for a task you are uniquely suited for. When Sister Esrai brought you to us as a squalling pink creature and you turned into a bundle of leaves and twigs, we knew that you had a greater purpose. The opportunity to see you fulfill that purpose is a wonderful thing.”

  “Mother and Father, who will protect the abbey?”

  “The Citadel needs your services, so they will be sending in a guard to help us keep our security during this trying time for Venila. The monks and acolytes will be safe with the one they are sending until you return.”

  Lieta was tense. She had been in charge of keeping everyone on the premises safe since she was six. The idea of leaving home to work for the benefit of someone else was a foreign idea that would take some getting used to.

  “When will this be happening?”

  “They are on final approach and will be landing near Corln Valley. I would like you to meet them there.” Mother and Father patted her hand. “Do not worry, you will be able to verify the suitability of your stand-in on the way back.”

  “Why did you only tell me of this now?”

  “You are slow to build to tension, so the proximity to the event makes it less traumatic for you. I have been watching, Lieta.”

  The wooden face smiled with light cracks appearing in the surface. “You need to go now. I give you permission to leave directly from the garden if you like.”

  Lieta smiled. “Thank you, Mother and Father. You do know me best.”

  “Run along, little light. I will see you when you return from your adventure.”

  Lieta kissed the wooden cheek and walked to a small stone circle and bent her knees. With a push, she was up and flying through the air, heading for the valley and the visitors who were carefully landing with as little motion as possible.

  Strictly speaking, Kenhoick was a closed world. They had minimal technology and it was supposed to stay that way. What made them a curiosity to those around them was the ninety percent psychic-talented population that ran through their world. Everyone had a skill that came of mind and not body and that was where it became complicated. They squabbled, fought for supremacy, divided into encampments with similar interests and generally tried to stay away from each other. The abbey was one of those encampments and Mother and Father had kept things safe until Lieta arrived, making the ground outside the orchards inhospitable. There had been a ring of desolation miles wide to keep the abbey safe until Lieta took over guardianship of the abbey.

  The ground became fertile and townships moved closer to the bounty that Mother and Father brought to the land without knowing why. Now, the keepers of their land were risking it all, and Lieta didn’t know why, but she knew she would obey.

  Chapter Two

  She walked toward the landing party just as the damp began to radiate out of the nearby river. “Greetings.”

  Her simple gown was often mistaken for robes, but Mother and Father had been adamant that she was never to join the order. She had to remain apart but they wouldn’t say why.

  There were two men and a woman walking to her with their robes flaring around. “Greetings. Are you from the abbey?”

  “I am. Shall we continue? You can ask your questions on the way.”

  One of the men looked around, “Why did we have to land here?”

  She smiled and started forging the path through the rocks and grasses. “Kenhoick is dangerous. The host of the abbey covered your landing here. Which one of you will be staying?”

  The woman looked uncertain. “The choice will be made at the abbey.”

  “Fine. What are your talents?”

  “I believe that we should wait until we are at the abbey before we mention them.”

  Lieta laughed. “Everyone there has a talent, too; I am just curious as to the effective nature of whatever you control. We have a stalker threatening one of the acolytes. Her ex-boyfriend. He balls up wind and uses it as a weapon. With enough force behind it, I believe it could shatter rock.”

  The female cleared her throat. “I create protective walls of force.”

  One of the males nodded. “I encourage rapid vine growth.”

  The last male said, “Fireballs.”

  Lieta quirked her lips. “You might want to see a healer for that.”

  The other two coughed to cover up laughter.

  “It isn’t the first time that I have heard that. What is your talent?”

  She sighed. “It isn’t anything flashy. I can display it when we reach the abbey. I need my people around for it.”

  They nodded in acceptance, and Lieta kept their path on a direct line through the fields and into the rear entrance of the abbey. Mother and Father were strong in this area. They watched the back of the abbey and the fields beyond while Lieta took the front.

  The hall ran around the central garden and let them out in the main square. Sister Esrai came running. “Lieta, are these the representatives?”

  “Yes. I would suggest the female as the protector. Either of the men will disturb the fields. I need to find a bag and pack some robes.”

  She saw the Citadel personnel looking at each other before the woman looked at her. “It is you? You are the talent we are to take away?”

  Lieta nodded. “I am. I will return in a moment. Sister Esrai is an excellent hostess. I am sure that you will be comfortable until I return.”

  One of the men said, “Wait, you said you would demonstrate your talent.”

  She smiled. “Fine, demonstrate yours.”

  He raised his hand and a ball of flame appeared in his palm. Lieta did the same. He lobbed the ball at her and she tossed hers to him. He caught it and he stared into his hand. “It is my fire.”

  She took his offering and defused it. “No, it is a replica of your fire. You, show me the vines.”

  He smiled at her order, and he knelt to pull a cable of green from the earth. Lieta did the same, but she stayed upright as she eased a tendril upward.

  “I copy active talents. Nothing more, nothing less.” She pulled the green into a post that Mother and Father could either reabsorb or allow the post to stand and flourish.

  She left the amazed Citadel personnel standing there and she headed off to find a satchel to carry her two changes of clothing.

  Acolyte Venila came to her, “Is it true that you are leaving us?”

  Lieta nodded and continued to her quarters with the woman scurrying after her.

  “How can you leave us? What if he comes back?”

  Lieta paused and turned. “If he comes back, the guard that has been summoned will take care of it. She will protect you and all within these walls. I am sure of it.”

  “How can you leave?” It was a whispered wail.

  Lieta swallowed and kept her back straight. “Because I have been asked to leave and I have been promised that I can come back and resume my life. I don’t live here because it is my choice. I serve because it is what I was born to do. This is where I belong.”

  Venila nodded. “Can I help?”

  Lieta put her arm around the young healer and they resumed the
path to her room.

  It took some digging, but she managed to find a bag to tuck her two spare gowns in along with a folded set of lace-up boots. She stood and put the bag over her shoulder. “Right. I guess I should go.”

  Venila hugged her. “Take care.”

  “You too. Don’t get out of the abbey until we know that he has given up. If you have to for whatever reason, take the guard with you. Do not think that you can slip past him. I had something special planned for him, but now, it has to wait until I return. He isn’t to be trusted, no matter what he says. I know that much for certain.”

  Venila sniffled. “Yes, Lieta. I can’t thank you enough for getting him away from me.”

  Lieta stroked her hair. “I know. You were very brave in getting away from him. If you hadn’t made it to our territory, I never would have had a chance to stop him. You chose to leave, and you chose to live. Remember that.”

  The smile came from Venila’s soul and it warmed Lieta from head to toe.

  “I choose.”

  “It is always your choice. And now, I choose to follow orders and get my butt back here as fast as I can.”

  They left her quarters and she closed the door. There was nothing inside beyond her bedroll and her sleeping mat. Still, neatness was treasured at the abbey, so closing her door was a worn-in habit.

  “Why aren’t you the abbess?” Venila asked the question that had been asked over a dozen times in her life.

  “I am not a member of the order. It was decided when I was a babe that I wasn’t to be part of the order but, instead, to be a curator of it.”

  Venila looked at her. “Doesn’t that bother you?”

  Lieta shook her head. “Why should it? It is what I was raised for.”

  She looked at the newest arrival. “You grew up in a different community, but here, we are all aimed at the abbey surviving and thriving. The monks wed and have children, spending their spare time in meditation. This is a quiet, orderly place, and you either grow to love it or you will decide to leave and we will help you enter a new community, distant from him and his reach.”